Whenever we ask you (our readers) what you love about WNC, one of the biggest responses we hear is the range of things to do. From hiking + rock climbing to free art displays + beer tastings – there is always something to do locally. However, what if you want to dive into something on a long-term basis or try something new?

In 2019, maybe it’s time to branch out a bit, flex those creative muscles + push yourself to do something just for you. DYK: Hobbies help enrich our lives by reducing stress?

Some of us train for marathons or throw pottery. Others play recreational basketball, don their wizard hats for a weekly Dungeons & Dragons campaign, or spend hours foraging.

Have the hope to get into something new this year but don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered. Whether you’re into birdwatching, permaculture, or pasta making, there are plenty of hobbies to try this year.

See 30+ new hobbies you can try over the next 12 months, from creative writing to fencing, stargazing to plant identification, here. ⬇️

🎨 Try your hand at arts + crafts

310 Art |📍191 Lyman St. | 776-2716 | This art gallery + educational space offers a number of fine arts workshops in oil, watercolor, wax + more

Asheville Dark Room |📍207 Coxe Ave. | Email | Get the hang of film photography + developing with one-day workshops or ongoing classes. See the schedule here.

Echoview Fiber Mill |📍76 Jupiter Rd. | 348-4864 | Experiment with botanical dyes, learn the basics of knitting with natural fibers made at the mill + more.

Local Cloth |📍 207 Coxe Ave. | 222-0356 | Learn how to dye natural fibers, create prints using natural materials, felt wool + more at this fiber arts studio.

NC Glass Center |📍140 Roberts St. | 505-3552 | Experiment with torch, furnace or kiln glass work. Workshops available for all levels, including beginners.

Odyssey Clayworks |📍 236 Clingman Ave. Ext. | 285-0210 | Give the ol’ pottery wheel a whirl during one of their after-work studio classes.

Penland School of Craft |📍67 Doras Trail, Penland | 765-2359 | Beef up your artistic practice or learn a new one at this acclaimed school. Studio workshops include photography, paper, clay, glass, iron, metals, wood + more.

Purple Crayon |📍9 Old Burnsville Hill Rd., Ste. 5 | 771-6148 | A communal studio for women artists that offers both workshops + ongoing, membership-based studio spaces for all disciplines.

⚒️ Do it yourself

The Asheville Kitchen |📍384 Merrimon Ave. | 712-4350 | Upgrade your culinary skills with a class on cooking ramen, cream puffs, pierogies, from-scratch pasta + more.

Blood and Spicebush |📍133 N. Fork Rd., Barnardsville | Email | Classes on traditional Appalachian witchcraft and folklore, with a focus on DIY, foraging + plant identification. Coming up: Shrubs, Tonics + Vinegars and Hedgecraft: The Witches Year.

Wild Abundance |📍65 Sanford Way | 775-7052 | All things permaculture, homesteading, carpentry + foraging. Protip: they also offer women’s only DIY classes.

⚽ Sweat it out

More of a fan than a player? Head to a local game at UNC Asheville, Carolina Day School, Western Carolina University, or another local high school or college to cheer on your favorite team in action.

Asheville Sport + Social Club |📍Locations vary | Email | Join teams for bowling, cornhole, flag football, minigolf, ultimate frisbee + meet new friends. Appropriate for ages 21+.

Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre |📍20 Commerce St. | 254-2621 | Try something more traditional with ballet, tap, acrobatics, and jazz, or head into the avant garde with butoh + other more experimental styles. Bonus: They offer fencing classes.

Danceclub Asheville |📍9 Old Burnsville Hill Rd. #3 | 275-8628 | Pole, chair, hip hop, aerobics, bellydance + more.

Empyrean Arts |📍32 Banks Ave. | 782-33121 | Try pole + chair dancing classes to tone + sculpt. Or sign up for that cool aerial silk yoga class that you see all over Instagram.

Studio Zahiya |📍90 N. Lexington Ave. | 537-0892 | Shake it off with ballet, barre fitness, bellydancing, hula, samba, pilates + jazz classes.

Tribe Dance + Pole |📍457 N. Louisiana Ave. | 774-5573 | Multi-level pole, barre, flow + flexibility classes in a community-oriented setting.

Terpsicorps |📍1501 Patton Ave. | 761-1277 | Classical ballet + modern movement classes held during the day and after-work hours.

🎭 Under the bright lights

Asheville Improv Collective |📍174 Broadway St. | 214-5232 | Test out your improv skills in a class that covers the basics.

Asheville Community Theatre |📍35 E. Walnut St. | 254-1320 | Scratch that itch to be on stage + audition for a locally-acted and produced play.

Montford Park Players |📍92 Gay St. | 254-5146 | Audition to be in a show with the longest-running Shakespeare in the Park theatre in the state. Summertime shows are outdoors under the stars at the Montford Amphitheatre.

📖 Brain games

Astronomy Club |📍UNC Asheville Reuter Center |Email | Free talk the first Thursday of the month (7 p.m. at the Reuter Center); stargaze schedule here | Stargaze with self-taught astronomers + attend special workshops and talks. It’s out-of-this-world cool.

Asheville Mushroom Club |📍160 Zillicoa St. | Email | Work on your fungi identification and check out their monthly talks, which restart in March on the last Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.

Carolina Day School Community Forums |📍various locations | 275-0757 | Meet other locals and hear professionals talk on topics including dyslexia, children and sports, communication in the digital age + more.

Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society |📍various locations | elishamitchellaudubon@gmail.com | Want to learn how to tell a house finch from a song sparrow? Check out the schedule of monthly bird walks here.

Firestorm Book Clubs |📍610 Haywood Rd. | 255-8115 | Active clubs include animal rights reading group + green grannies club.

Flat Iron Writers Room |📍5 Covington St. | Email | Explore a number of writing-related workshops for new and seasoned fiction + nonfiction writers.

Great Smokies Writing Program |📍UNC Asheville | 251-6099 | Sign up for 5, 10, or 15 week classes that focus on fiction + nonfiction writing, poetry + more.

Malaprop’s Book Clubs |📍55 Haywood St. | 254-6734 | Active clubs include current events, mystery, LGBTQ, discussion + more.

Asheville Scrabble Club |📍 Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave. | All levels welcome; gameboards + materials provided

Nothing gets you through the cold weather better than having a hobby to warm you up. I’m planning to deep dive into Appalachian folklore and plant medicine with Blood and Spicebush this year so I can finally get around to learning all about local edible plants.

Did we miss your favorite hobby? Let us know by replying to this email or telling us over on Instagram or Facebook.

– Ali + Stephanie